Page 46 of Animal Instincts
Oliver grinned, and got up. “On second thoughts, I’ll leave breakfast this morning. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
TWENTY-SIX
“… dessert, gentlemen?” The young waitress beamed at Oliver and Joss, her pencil poised over her notepad.
“It’d be rude not to, don’t you think?” Oliver smiled as Joss answered with an enthusiastic nod.
“Thanks for tonight,” Joss said when the waitress left with their orders. “It’s wonderful, and I know tables are hard to get here. So how did you manage to get a booking at such short notice? Got connections?”
Oliver tapped the side of his nose. “Let’s just say it’s not what but who you know.”
A quick call to James, who’d been on his way back to London with Perry, had clinched it. It was his friend who had the connections with the De Lacys, the same family Charles was an offshoot of. They were the local landed, and very influential, gentry. One call and a quiet word was all it took. James hadn’t asked who would be sharing the table for two, and Oliver had been grateful his friend had kept his questions to himself.
The De Lacy Arms was similar in many ways to The Fisherman’s Arms, but smarter, befitting the moniker of gastro pub. Like the pub in Love’s Harbour, its low ceiling was supported by age darkened, wonky wooden beams. Lumpy, bumpy walls were washed in a soft white, which glowed golden from the mellow wall lights. The murmur of voices, the chink of china and glass, and the aroma of good food and wine was a warm and fuzzy blanket.
Warm and fuzzy, just how Oliver was feeling. Yet it had nothing to do with the award winning food or the fire which crackled in the grate — the spring night time air was chilly high on the edge of wild Dartmoor — but was instead everything to do with the younger man who sat opposite him.
“I wish you’d stayed this morning.” His heart had twisted as he’d put his arm out — and found the bed empty.
“So do I.” Joss looked down, and chewed on his lip. “Like I said, I wanted to keep a low profile — not that it worked — and I had my shift, but…” Joss looked up, a flicker of doubt shadowing his gold-green eyes.
Oliver’s stomach knotted, and the wonderful food sat like a stone in his gut.
“You thought I might have regretted what happened?” How could he regret something that had brought feeling back to his numbed heart?
“No, or not exactly, but most of the morning after the night before experiences I’ve had have been a little… awkward. I didn’t want it to be the same, but now I wish I’d woken you before I left.”
“So do—”
“Sticky toffee pudding, and caramel brownie, both with local clotted cream.”
Oliver’s head snapped up and he blinked at the waitress. “What?”
“Your desserts, sir.” The waitress set them down, throwing Oliver a puzzled frown before she bustled off.
“I really don’t know if I’ve got room for this.” Joss stared down at the huge mound of gooey, syrupy, toffee-drenched pudding, accompanied by an enormous dollop of butter-thick clotted cream on the side.
Oliver dug his spoon into his chunky, white and dark chocolate encrusted caramel brownie. “Me neither, but I’m going to make sure I give it a bloody good try.”
* * *
“What a beautiful night. Skies like this were impossible in London — too much light pollution.”
Oliver stared up at the sky. High above, the stars were bright flecks of silver against the inky blackness. He glanced at Joss, standing on the other side of the Land Rover, also gazing up into the boundless night.
“Do you want to go back yet?” Joss asked, switching his attention to Oliver. “Because if not, I’ve got an idea.”
Oliver had an idea of his own, which included a lot of nakedness, and the rug in front of his fire. His dick stirred, fully on board with the idea, but Joss’ wide, enthusiastic smile was hard to resist — and Oliver was curious despite the growing pressure pushing against the zip of his trousers.
“What—?”
“Get driving, and I’ll give you directions.”
The lanes wound that way, then this, but whichever way they twisted, all the time they were climbing higher. The way ahead of them was black, save for the tunnel of light from the headlamps. Rabbits bounded away, disappearing into the hedgerows, and a fox darted for cover, disturbed from its nocturnal roadside feasting on a creature less fortunate. Hedges gave way to woodland, the trees’ tall dark shadows pressing in on either side of them. And still they climbed higher.
“Are you sure—?” Oliver glanced over at Joss, at his eager face illuminated in the glow from the dashboard.
“Look.”
